The Ministry of National Defense said it spotted 16 Chinese warplanes operating near the nation on Friday, about the same time Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was meeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing.
The two met in Beijing, where Xi said he “absolutely would not tolerate” independence for Taiwan.
Cheng has portrayed her visit as a reconciliation mission to lessen tensions, and told Xi she looked forward to the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) advancing the “institutionalization” of peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The ministry in its daily report on Chinese military activity in the previous 24 hours said that 16 Chinese warplanes flew near the nation from mid-morning to mid-afternoon on Friday.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung (沈有忠) said using military coercion against Taiwan as a means of applying pressure for political negotiations has always been China’s “go-to tactic.”
“On one hand we see them sending out messages of peace, while on the other hand they continue to use military force to pressure Taiwan without letup,” he added.
KMT Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) said that the key to promoting peace lies in offering Taiwanese a choice between peace and reconciliation, or war.
Engaging with China and promoting cross-strait peace yields “peace with dignity,” not the bowing of one’s head to “shake hands” like President William Lai (賴清德) has said, Chang added.
Lai’s office said that the Xi-Cheng meeting sought to highlight that “Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China” and to advance “the annexation of Taiwan.”
“Taiwan’s future can only be decided by the Taiwanese people themselves,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
Meanwhile, the US said that meaningful exchange across the Taiwan Strait should focus on dialogue between Beijing and Taiwan’s democratically elected authorities.
“The United States does not take a position on the ultimate resolution of cross-strait differences,” a US Department of State spokesperson said, urging Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan.
“We oppose any unilateral changes to the ‘status quo’ from either side,” they said.
Separately yesterday, Taipei Medical University international relations professor Chang Kuo-cheng (張國城) said that when Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) attended the Twin-City Forum in Shanghai last year, the CCP did not halt its military aircraft operations around Taiwan, nor did it stop its military exercises, and even held live-fire drills in the Yellow Sea, amid Cheng’s Beijing visit.
That suggested that the CCP is no longer interested in showing goodwill or easing pressure when in contact with specific political figures, and has no intention of giving so-called “moderates” within Taiwan any room to operate, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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